In Finis Res: At The End of Things
by ThatGuyPlaton
Summary: When Peridot attempts to recreate the hourglass, Connie is thrown into a future that could almost be mistaken for modern day. Given the chance to look at her own future, Connie instead finds herself roadblocked, the same word repeated each time. Spoilers. What revelations will Connie find in her time here in the far-flung future? What will she discover At The End of Things?
1. Sand

Chapter 1: Sand

Connie should've realized it wasn't going to be a normal day at the first sentence.

"It's a surprise!"

Peridot's shrill voice called out in indignation, the subsequent protests from Connie and Steven silenced as she tossed them blindfolds. Might as well see where this was going, they thought.

"Nyehehehe." Peridot's laugh jittered in the air, as she pushed her audience towards the exhibition.

Leading the two out the front door of the house, Peridot rushed down the stairs to the beach in a flurry. Steven giggled along with her intoxicating laughter, Connie following soon after. The two had to admit, they were somewhat enjoying this.

"Hmmm, okay now! Detach your vision exacerbators!" Peridot ordered, pulling at Steven's blindfold as he laughed. He couldn't help but enjoy the few quirks Peridot still had in her vocabulary.

Removing their blindfolds with a swipe of their hands, Steven and Connie came to a pause almost immediately. Peridot stood before the two, her arms splayed out in presentation of a... contraption, embedded halfway in the sand.

It was a mess of wires and tubes, of flashing metal and rotating cogs that didn't seem like they should work, yet did anyway. The most striking feature of the device, however, was the material flowing through the numerous exposed tubes and drums.

"Sand?" Connie asked, stepping forward with her hand extended out. All at once, Peridot smacked her palm away, causing her to yelp in surprise and take a step back. "Ow! What was that for?"

"An astute observation," Peridot began, ignoring the question entirely, a grin carved onto her face. Her own hand went to the device, gripping one of the sand tubes and squeezing it tight. "It _seems _as if my ingenious has created a machine that is processing your normal earthly Calcium Carbonate, also known as sand."

Connie remained silent as Steven beamed at Peridot's explanation. He was always enraptured when she talked about science stuff.

"But! I can assure you that this is far more than that!" Peridot began to pace around the device, her hands wrapping around every nook and cranny she could find in it. "Steven, do you recall ever coming across a glass bauble filled with sand whilst working as a Crystal Gem?"

Steven's eyes lit up as he realized he could contribute.

"Yeah actually! The hourglass! Me and the Gems found it in this underwater place forever ago!" Steven recalled his short journey with the finicky time travel device. The memory of his alternate self disintegrating into sand replayed in his mind, making him gulp. "Why— why do you ask?"

Peridot glanced down at the machine, directing Steven's gaze towards it. He watched a shot of sand fly past in a tube before the realization dawned on him.

"It's like that?! It's a time thingy!" he exclaimed, startling Connie with his sudden outburst. Stars grew in his eyes as he stared at the device. "Peridot, you remade it!"

"Time thingy?" Connie asked, an eyebrow raised as Peridot walked around the machine again. Yet, as soon as she reached Steven, the two fell into their own world, bantering back and forth the specifics of the machine at hand. Catching the details as they flew at her, Connie quickly put together a vague image of just what she was looking at.

A. It was related to time in some way, manipulating it at that.

B. Steven had apparently dealt with something like this in the past, albeit, not to the best results.

C. Steven was really getting into his conversation with Peridot.

Connie smiled at the two, watching the conversation bounce back between one subject or another, never sticking to one for more than a few moments. Those two were a treat.

But, now for that first point.

"So what is it, exactly," she spoke up, catching their attention as she got closer. Peridot paused, shaking her head as she returned back down to Earth. Her cheeky almost embarrassed grin disappeared, replaced with a simple and calm smile.

"It's, as the Earth colloquialism goes, a time machine," Peridot explained. "The last one there is, in fact! As it turns out, the previous hourglass object was the only one Homeworld had at hand. And it was specifically brought to Earth by Rose Quartz, back when she was still Pink Diamond."

"Why'd my mom do that?" Steven asked, the sudden topic shift to his mother confusing him somewhat.

"Maybe she didn't want Homeworld to have a time machine?" Connie suggested. Peridot's face lit up.

"Exactly! It was a strategic move by Rose Quartz to cut Homeworld off from any massive technological advantage." Peridot's grin turned sly as she rubbed her chin. "Now, however, your grand and illustrious Peridot has flipped the table on those crumby diamonds!"

Steven laughed.

"Are you ready for the device's first test run?" she offered, walking to the back of the machine again. All at once, Connie's face went flat.

"Wait, _first_ test run? You haven't tried this out before?" she asked.

"Well, of course," Peridot said with a snort, her head cocking. "I can assure you that I've more than perfected the device's design and functionality."

Now Steven's excitement fell, as Peridot dropped down behind the machine to do something.

"Uh, I'm not sure if this is safe, Peridot," he said aloud. Beside him, Connie took a step back.

"Look, if it'll make you feel any safer, we can stand at a distance." Peridot popped out from the back of the machine, her hands full with a panel bearing a thick wire hanging from it. "Will you trust me then?"

"Sure!" Steven said, his grin returning.

Connie, however, wasn't so convinced. This thing could be dangerous, she posited. Who knows what could happen if it went wrong; They could be shattered throughout time, flung into the distant past, or just erase time in general! Connie had read a lot of sci-fi books, she knew there were reasons to worry.

But…

Peridot _is _a genius. She had done things as crazy as this in the past and it all turned out well enough. Maybe it wasn't right to doubt her here. Maybe.

Connie decided she'd stay and keep watch, perhaps from just a couple more meters back than those two.

* * *

Connie couldn't believe she decided to stand so close to the thing. Her infallible curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she ended up joining the two in what could basically be amounted to front row seats to the time machine's maiden activation. A part of her had to admit, though, she really did want to get an up close and personal look at it in work.

That part of her was quickly regretting it.

"Successful test run number one is commencing!" Peridot cried, her hands jittering in excitement. She looked on her device from the group's _obviously _safe distance of a few meters, her arm hooked onto Steven as she shook.

"This is so exciting!" Steven exclaimed, turning to Connie as the machine began to hum to life. The girl nodded quickly, her lips flat. "What do you have it set to do, 'Dot?"

"Oh, I decided to go for a simple twenty-second jump." Peridot pulled a small note pad from her hair, looking over it once. Just then, the machine began to vibrate, the sand inside the tubes shuddering before stabilizing again. "It should disappear from sight, then reappear again in approximately twenty seconds."

"And if it doesn't?" Connie asked then, turning to her. Peridot snorted.

"Pfft, how should I know?" A cocky smile graced her lips as she shrugged. "I don't plan for things to _fail_."

Just then a tube burst, a spray of sand shooting out like a blade into the sea. The three leapt back in shock, eyes turning to Peridot almost immediately.

"I, uh, that was meant to happen," she lied through her teeth, eyes shooting down to the notepad in her hand. "Yeah, right here, stage four. Calcium Carbonate tube six will… burst open… violently."

Another tube burst then, shooting sand out to rain down on the group.

"...And tube eight," Peridot said, biting her tongue.

And then, it all went wrong.

An explosion ripped through the beach, the device shattering with a shock wave that filled the air with a tall pillar of sand. Steven summoned his shield, but it wasn't enough.

The three were blown back, the ground beneath them giving away as a crater in the beachside formed to almost swallow them up. Landing on his feet, Steven had only a moment before Peridot crashed into him, knocking both back another meter. A moment later, Connie crashed onto the ground herself, rolling to her feet.

There wasn't a moment to catch their breaths, as a new sound crashed into them, a reverberating bellow. It caught them off guard, made them stumble as they were still trying to get their ground. It wasn't the sound of the machine failing, or gears grinding against each other. It was like the very Earth itself was screaming.

Something was very very _very _wrong.

A deep crater of sand stood before the three, water from the ocean trickling in and pooling in the bottom. And there, the crowning horror of the sight, was a mass of convulsing light. It shook and shuddered, trembled at every breath. It was like its very existence brought it pain.

Bright pastel light poured out of the construct, churning, turning in on itself like it couldn't decide what it was in this universe, as if it could only be one thing. Voices poured out from the bellowing sound it made, whispers and screaming and cries of joy and pain, fading in and out.

"Oh my stars," Peridot whispered, a hand going to her mouth in an instant. After a moment, her other arm, free and shaking, moved to remove her long visor. "I, what, how—"

"We don't have time to question this, Peridot!" Connie called out, walking past Steven. He summoned his shield again after a split moment, eyeing the mass of light with horror and amazement.

"You're— you're right," Peridot said, shaking herself from her stupor. Connie smiled.

"Good!" she said aloud, turning back to Steven. "Let's fix this, Crystal Gems—"

Unfortunately for Connie, she had taken a step too close to the crater, the unstable sand beneath her collapsing under her weight in a moment. Slipping, her entire life flashed before her eyes, as she saw Steven react in practically slow motion.

"Connie!" he screamed, reaching out for her but just barely missing, as she rolled down into the crater. It all happened in less than a second. One moment she stood at the edge of the beach, the next she had fallen into the crater and straight into the mass of light.

With a flash, it all disappeared.

* * *

**Hiya everyone! Welcome to a new short series I'll be releasing whilst I work on the edits to the early chapters of my fic, Steven Universe: Return of Cinnabar! Updates will be every Saturday, so I hope you enjoy!**


	2. Spoilers

Chapter 2: Spoilers

Water.

Connie was underwater. It took her a moment to process this, what with her life flashing before her eyes just seconds ago. But once she had, she did the only thing you do when you discover yourself several meters below the nearest source of oxygen: swim.

Her head broke the surface after a moment, fast pants and quick breaths soon following. Assured she wasn't about to drown or be consumed by a mass of light from another universe, she began to calm down. She could take stock.

"Where, am I?" she said to herself, checking to make sure she could actually still speak. Who knows, maybe rips in the fabric of space and time took your voice away or something.

She turned, her gaze changing from the sight of the open ocean to something far more familiar: The Temple. And behind it, Beach City. Breathing a sigh of relief, Connie began paddling towards what felt like literal sanctuary.

Dragging herself onto the sand, Connie took a moment to glance at the shape of the beach itself.

"What the heck?" she whispered. The crater from the explosion was gone, completely. Instead, the whole ocean seemed to sweep in and take up the space that was there earlier. She hadn't moved; the bottom of the crater was now water. "I need to find Steven."

Shaking herself off as she approached the house, Connie took a moment to glance at the familiar temple that back dropped it. The calm familiarity of it was comforting after the last few hectic minutes. She'd never comment on how overgrown the moss was again; heck it even looked cleaner now!

Connie knocked the screen door three times, shaking off more of the water soaking literally every inch of her. Thank goodness she left her phone inside before coming out to this, she thought. The last thing she needed was to tell her mom she nearly died to one of the Gem's science experiments _and _had her phone ruined in the process. Though, maybe Peridot could fix that, Connie thought. As long as she didn't rig it to explode accidentally.

The door swung open.

"We're not interested in whatever human triviality you have to—"

Connie turned at the voice, the sight of Peridot greeting her immediately. The Gem stared back at her, surprise and shock turning to concern in a moment. Ah jeeze, Connie thought. Her disappearance had probably left Peridot and Steven worried sick.

"Hey! Turns out, didn't die haha," Connie laughed, trying to break the awkward mood. The mood, however, remained unscratched. "Um, Peridot. Are you okay?"

"Oh stars that was today," she said under her breath, confusing Connie immediately.

"What was toda—" Connie barely had a chance to get a word out before Peridot grabbed her shoulders and dragged her inside, slamming the door shut. Turning, Connie opened her mouth again. "Peri—"

"Don't say anything, don't ask anything. I can't tell you anything!" Peridot screamed, her voice growing strained almost immediately. "Just, uh, sit on the couch and wait."

Connie stumbled forward a few steps as Peridot pulled away, going to the kitchen almost immediately.

"Peridot, what the heck is going on?" Connie's voice rose with every word, her eyes looking around for Steven. "What happened on the beach? Where did you and Steven go?"

"Can't say a thing, sorry," Peridot threw out, reaching down and picking up an unmarked box from under the kitchen counter.

"Why not?" Connie approached Peridot, who immediately turned and pointed a long screwdriver back at her. "Whoa!"

"I can't say because, because, uh," Peridot stumbled over herself, struggling to not drop the box with only one hand. "Because spoilers!"

Silence took the two, eyes locked at one another as quiet filled the whole house.

"That literally doesn't explain anything," Connie said.

"Good, that's the point," Peridot replied, turning away with the box in hand. She dumped the contents of it across the kitchen counter, pulling herself up to a tall stool a moment later. Getting to work, Peridot seemed to choose ignoring Connie over saying anything that could be considered a clear explanation.

Connie groaned, walking to the couch and plopping herself down. Crossing her arms in frustration, she settled to just staring at the green technician Gem as she worked. That went nowhere fast. Connie's patience dried up after literally no time at all.

"Could I get a hint?" she broached, to which Peridot snorted.

"_No_," she laughed. "Everyone always asks for hints, then they get angry when they're spoiled."

"You keep saying that, what the heck do you mean _spoiled_?" Connie uncurled her arms, pinning her hands on her knees.

"Can't say, it would be a spoiler," Peridot shot back, her head half cocking to see Connie sitting on the couch. "Besides, you'd prefer not to know."

"What does that mean?"

"You already know my answer," Peridot said turning back. Connie groaned again.

"Yeah, yeah spoilers," she muttered, crossing her arms again and turning away. A few more minutes of silence passed before she got up, approaching Peridot's makeshift workstation. "So, watcha doing?"

Connie wouldn't pretend to understand the rough mixture of electronics, gears, and mystery substances that dotted the workstation in front of Peridot. At most, she'd suggest some proper clean up before Steven tried to make a sandwich on the counter.

"You're very persistent for someone with the answer," Peridot muttered, lifting up a vague mixture of metal that could be called a frame. She turned to look at Connie. "_Spoil_-_ers_"

"Okay, you won't tell me what's up. So, I'll just take a guess." Connie rubbed her chin, humming in thought for a moment. "Does it have to do with that time thing you made that blew up?"

"Not saying," Peridot reiterated, screwing in another cog. Connie thought for a moment, an idea coming to her.

"Yeah, you're right. That's probably not it," she said, Peridot's attention faltering for a moment before returning to her work. "Hmm, if I had to guess, that time thing wasn't a time thing at all, it was actually a _teleporter_."

Connie resisted the urge to laugh out loud as Peridot tried and failed to concentrate on her work.

"I bet when it exploded, it sent me to an alternate universe where the beach is shaped differently!" Connie's voice sewed together the most confident and completely false inanities she could think of. And it seemed to work, as Peridot put her contraption down. "Come on, tell me I'm right."

"Not, _exactly_," Peridot said with a tight lip, trying her best to resist. She picked up the frame again, barely managing to work on it. Connie, however, kept pushing.

"Oh yeah, and I bet the Connie from this universe got sent to my universe." Connie was surprised that she could weave together fantasies like this on the fly. She should try creative writing, she thought. "So once I showed up, you've got to work sending me back!"

All at once, Peridot slammed the work-in-progress device down.

"The sheer ability of everything you say to be so right and also so _wrong _completely baffles me!" she cried with indignant protest. "Alternate Universes? Where the heck did you get that from— You're not in an alternate universe, you're in the future!"

Peridot's face fell as the smile on Connie's rose higher to mirror it. Game, set, match.

"Oh stars," Peridot muttered to herself, burying her face in her hands. "How did you get me to say it?"

"My dad once told me the quickest way to get the right answer is to give the wrong one and wait for someone to correct you." Connie pulled up a chair, taking the seat next to Peridot. Meanwhile, however, her mind raced.

The future? She was in the future? How far in the future? How much had she missed? Oh jeeze. How many times could her mom have called her and she not been there to answer?!

Connie took a deep breath. She held it for a moment, calming herself before releasing. It's fine, everything's fine. Her mom couldn't blame her for freak acts of science, that was a rule of theirs.

"So, how far forward am I?" Connie asked then. Peridot picked up the device again, returning to her work as she put a chip into place. Connie frowned. "Come oooooon."

"You got one spoiler out of me, I'm not giving you anymore," Peridot grumbled, mulling over her defeat silently. "We're dealing with the time-space continuum here. I prefer to not damage it any more than my past self already has."

"Can you at least tell me how long I've been gone?" Connie pleaded, stretching her arms over the counter. "Pleeeeease."

"You haven't—" Peridot shut herself up before she could say another word. At that, Connie frowned. Her lips dragged down further as she sighed.

"Could you, could you at least tell me how you've all been? Without me?" Turning away, Connie laid her head against the counter, content to keeping to herself for the rest of her time here.

It occurred to her that she didn't even know how she'd be getting back. Assuming that Peridot was making something to send her to the past was just that, an assumption. A rather presumptive one at that.

Maybe she was making something to just erase Connie before her presence messed with time even more.

"You never left us."

Connie's head rose at the crack of Peridot's voice, her ears catching the tears she was barely holding behind her words.

"What?" Connie asked, turning back to the technician Gem. Staring down at her half-finished device, Peridot seemed to be lost in thought. She sighed.

"I said, you never left us," she repeated, looking up at Connie. When the confusion didn't leave Connie's eyes, Peridot sighed again, now out of frustration rather than anything. "Time is a stable loop. Shortly after you disappear in the past, you reappear, sent back by the future me, er, well now just me."

A quiet sat in the air then, as Connie processed what Peridot was telling her. For a moment, she hung onto the relief that she _was _being sent back.

"So, I'm here then? There's a future me running around?" she asked, glancing around as if she had managed to miss an older version of herself.

Peridot rolled her eyes, attention returning to the device.

"Yes, there is. Yes, she's doing fine. And no, you won't be getting to see her." Turning the device again in hand, Peridot reached over to a vial of sand Connie hadn't noticed earlier.

"Why not?" Connie whined with a frown. Peridot gave her an incredulous look.

"Because you told me in the past you never met your future self!" Peridot exclaimed to which Connie shook her head.

"That wasn't me, at least not yet," Connie reminded. Groaning, Peridot returned to her work, choosing to not mingle on the specifics of time travel again. She put the vial of sand down and recollected the designs in her head again.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. We have to keep things consistent."

More quiet followed. Connie's mind began to go into overdrive again, thinking over what to say. Turning in her stool, she relayed her options before coming to a decision.

"Okay, so what _can _you tell me?" she asked, leaning in.

"As little as I can manage," Peridot simply shot back, returning to her more aloof disposition. "You— Er, the future you, told me a few specifics things that you were _spoiled _on, but I'm supposed to let those things occur naturally. And even a few more she said would be a _surprise_."

Peridot shuddered at the word, which brought Connie pause.

"What's wrong? Don't like surprises?" Connie hoped she wasn't stepping on any bad memories.

Peridot shook her head.

"Not here, not with this situation." Lifting the vial of sand up again, Peridot glanced at it for a moment before pausing. She gulped and put it down. "Suffice it to say. After the original time machine failed and you disappeared, I would rather not deal with another time-related _surprise _again."

"That really upset you, huh?"

"Upset is the least of it," Peridot said, looking to Connie. "After that day... I took a step back. 'Took stock' as Steven's father once said."

Peridot let out a heavy sigh as she tried to return to her work. Yet, she couldn't pay it any attention, not with Connie sitting there, not when she could set things _right_.

"I could have _killed_ you," Peridot confessed, her voice straining and cracking. "And I thought I did at first! By sheer negligence! I was so full of myself, on my own ability! I completely rushed the production of an incredibly dangerous device, and only by chance _didn't_ immediately kill us."

"Peridot—"

"Do you know how _Steven_ reacted? When you disappeared into that light?" Peridot's gaze snapped to Connie, who was taken aback. Her eyes were trembling, practically on the edge of tears. Connie shook her head. Taking a sharp breath, Peridot continued. "He— He was _destroyed_. I had never heard him— cry, that loud before."

Another sharp breath followed, this one drawn out and strained. Peridot wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"S-Stars," she stammered. "How could I be so stupid, how could I—"

Connie threw her arms around Peridot, pulling her into a tight hug. Freezing, the crying Gem opened her eyes all at once.

"What, I—"

"Please, stop beating yourself up, _please_," Connie pleaded, her voice cracking as she pressed her head into Peridot's shoulder. She took a breath. "It was, _quite literally_, in the past."

Peridot's lips bursted out with a laugh, cracking her teary face and bringing a smile to it. Sniffling, she wiped away a few small tears.

"I know it must really hurt, being reminded about what happened," Connie said, pulling away slightly. "But it's fine now, I'm fine now. You're gonna send me home. So no harm, no foul."

Connie gave Peridot a small smile, to which she laughed again.

"So that's why you weren't angry when you got back," she said. Her eyes widened as she realized she had let another spoiler out. "D'oh!"

Connie grinned as she pulled away, giving the Gem room to breathe. As she did so, however, she went into thought.

Now she knew how she was meant to react when she got back.

Not knowing how long she'd be stuck in the future, Connie began to wonder how many more 'spoilers' would end up slipping through eventually. She didn't know how many she wanted.

"He smiled after you came back, you know."

"Hm?" Connie raised a brow at the comment.

"Sorry, it must seem really obvious, saying that out loud," Peridot said with a snort. "But…"

She fiddled with her fingers.

"...After you disappeared, he cried. He screamed. It honestly felt like the world was ending, listening to that." Peridot felt a frown grow on her face, before turning it to a grin. "But when you came back, Steven _smiled_. And it felt like everything was okay, like the world was _saved._"

Peridot looked to Connie, her eyes relaxed, yet tinged with resolve.

"I promised I never wanted to make him cry like that again, only smile," she said. "That smile that _saved the world_."

"I, wow," Connie leaned back, Peridot's declaration almost blowing her away. "Steven, really means a lot to you, huh?"

"He always did. I just didn't realize how much until then," Peridot's eyes traveled to the ceiling, her focus lost as she seemed to drift off. Snapping to attention, however, she shook her head. "I should, uh, get back to work before any more distractions show up—"

And all at once, the warp pad came to life. Connie and Peridot flinched, the sudden sound shattering the earlier quiet. Turning, Connie wondered who had arrived.

The first one she saw was Amethyst.

"Holy shit."


	3. Secrets

Chapter 3: Secrets

"Holy shit."

Connie was shocked, the phrase practically assaulting her ears. She had never heard any of the Gems, even Amethyst, say anything that could be considered a curse before. This was certainly new.

"That was today!" Amethyst screamed, rushing away from Pearl, who sighed. "Peri, girl, you never told us she was showing up today!"

"I didn't even want to tell you she was showing up," Peridot grumbled, waving to Pearl before returning to her work.

Amethyst stormed Connie, circling out around her as her eyes swiped up and down the girl's body.

"Uh, hey Amethyst." Connie mirrored the Gem, glancing down at her own outfit. It had changed, Connie soon realized. A dark purple hoodie now hung off her frame, a new addition to her attire since Connie had seen her last. So, Amethyst had poofed, she thought.

All at once Amethyst grabbed onto Connie, pulling her along as she spun.

"Ah! I can't believe it! I haven't seen you like this in forever!" she cried, bearing a dumb grin as she twirled.

"Really? How long has it been?"

"Don't say a thing!" Peridot called out, not turning from her seat. Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Time travel, spoilers, all that jazz." Amethyst came to a stop, finally giving Connie a moment to look back at the other Gem in the room: Pearl. She beamed as her eyes locked with Connie's, the smile growing infectious as it spread to Connie's face. Guess all the Gems knew, Connie thought.

Continuing, Amethyst gripped Connie's head and turned it to face her.

"It's just, holy shit!"

"Amethyst, can you turn it down with all the language," Pearl grumbled, finally stepping off the warp pad and joining the group.

"Hi, Pearl!" Connie cheered, pulling her head away and waving her hand in the air. Able to get a good look at the Gem, Connie took a moment to note the changes to Pearl's outfit. She still had the short teal jacket, but now it was laced with a highlight of orange. Pearl had been poofed as well, she thought.

Pearl smiled, placing a hand on her hip as Amethyst continued to rave.

"Ah, you can't blame me, Pea! It's been forever since I had to not cuss around Steven and Connie." Amethyst lamented, looking over her shoulder at the taller Gem. "She hasn't been twelve in like, twenty years."

"Twenty years!?"

"Oh for the _star's sake!"_ Peridot screamed from her workstation.

All at once, Connie felt her eyes bulge from her skull. Twenty years! She guessed from the house and how Peridot looked that she was maybe twenty weeks into the future, twenty months at most. But not twenty years!

What kind of crazy stuff had went down since she left? What happened to all the recently healed Gems? To Homeworld and the Diamonds? And what about—

"Where's Steven," Connie said aloud, bringing the rambling in the room to a standstill. There was a moment of apprehension from Amethyst and Pearl, as their eyes trailed to Peridot. Their gaze betrayed them, as Connie turned to the green Gem as well.

"Well?" Connie asked again, eliciting a sigh and sagging shoulders from Peridot. "Hm?"

Connie crossed her arms as she began to grow impatient. She had to know, where was Steven. How was he after all these years?

Turning in her seat, Peridot faced the girl, her lips a distinct frown.

"Business trip."

And with that Peridot wheeled back around and tried to dive into her work.

"What?" Connie exclaimed. "Business trip? Steven doesn't do _business_. He does music! And Gem stuff! And the Gems are right here."

Connie pointed to the Gems behind her, taking a moment to notice the lack of Garnet.

"What? Did you think Steven would just stay twelve forever?" Peridot snorted. "He's an adult, he's got a job. Just like the future you."

Connie raised a brow at the statement. Rolling her eyes, Peridot continued.

"It's not a spoiler to say you get a _job_." Peridot tried to turn away in her seat, but Connie simply pushed the stool to make her face back again. "What?"

"Where is he right now, exactly?" she persisted. Peridot gave her an incredulous look.

"How should I know?" she said, shrugging. "He's in a different place every week, sometimes every day. We just wait for him to call in."

"What the heck is he even doing then?"

"Hah, now _that'd_ be a spoiler," Peridot replied, rolling her eyes.

"Awww come on! Give me a hint!" Connie whined, tugging on Peridot's arm. Amethyst snorted at the sight, nudging Pearl as they watched the two go back and forth.

"You've gotten enough spoilers!" Peridot exclaimed with a frown. "I'm drawing a line. You're not figuring this one out."

Suddenly, Pearl bursted with a snort, too loud to not be noticed.

"No, please, go on," she said, smirking and crossing her arms. Peridot furrowed her brow before continuing.

"As I was saying, you're not figuring out anything else," she dismissed, turning away. Not stopping at her work station, however, she continued to turn, until she faced Connie again. "No more _hints_! Got it?"

At that word, a bubble suddenly appeared behind Peridot's back, phasing into existence as if it came in on cue.

"Uh, got it," Connie said, her eyes locked to the pink orb floating behind Peridot's head. Pink, she thought. That must be from Steven.

"Good, glad we could finally come to an agreement—" Peridot paused as she turned, her face smacking into the bubble. Catching it before it could float away, she grumbled to herself. "—Pfhu, he's getting lazy."

Connie paused at the sound of Pearl snorting again, before returning her attention to Peridot.

Shifting into automatic, Peridot popped the bubble, immediately causing Connie to recoil. Yet, she quickly realized it wasn't a gemstone in there, but something else entirely. Amethyst's chuckles filled the air as Connie silently stepped around Peridot, to get a look at what she was handling.

"Hmm, okay, maybe not lazy, just going over his recommended difficulty level." Peridot's mumbles flew over Connie's head as the item came into full view. It was a medium-sized chunk of rock, a bit smaller than a brick, covered in moss, some dirt, but especially, scratches.

Regular, yet completely incomprehensible scratches.

It looked ancient, Connie thought. Maybe something from one of the old Homeworld sites? Connie took a step forward as Peridot turned the object in hand. Spotting the Diamond insignia on the rock's back, Connie pursed her lips. Definitely old Homeworld stuff.

Behind her, Amethyst and Pearl whispered between themselves, a laugh leaving Pearl's lips, though she quickly tried to dam it. This was going to be incredibly embarrassing for either Peridot or herself, Connie thought. But dang it, she had to know.

Pulling a notepad from the side as she turned the rock again, Peridot began to transcribe the scratched symbols. And underneath them, English words. She was translating them, Connie realized.

If that bubble was from Steven, it meant he was sending it back to be translated. But why? He and the Gems never bothered to read old Homeworld stuff before. Then again, that was twenty years ago. Who knows what could've changed, how Steven could've changed.

Peridot tore the page from the notepad, pulling Connie from her train of thought. Folding it once and then twice, she paused to do one last thing, draw three shapes to the front of the sheet: a star, a heart, and a diamond.

With one motion, Peridot bundled up the paper and the rock. With another she tapped the two together, forming a bright green bubble to encase them. And finally, she sent it off, a sigh of relief touching her lips as she finished her work.

"So that's _definitely_ from Steven," Connie said out loud, raising her voice to pull Peridot back down to Earth. "Only the Crystal Gems can make bubbles, and Steven's the only one who makes pink ones."

Peridot remained silent, pursing her lips as she allowed Connie to speculate.

"That thing was probably from some old Gem site," Connie continued, rubbing her chin. "So Steven's job definitely has something to do with that!"

Peridot's flat lips turned to a self-satisfied smile.

"Pfahaha, you're trying to figure that out? Keep guessing," she said, rolling her eyes with a grin. "Guesses are all you're going to get."

Yet, as Peridot turned away to return working on sending Connie to the past, said girl smiled. She had watched how Peridot reacted, what statement left the Gem confident that Connie was barking up the wrong tree. So now she knew what would _really_ get Peridot to sweat.

"Buuuut—" Connie poked her head over the kitchen counter, her voice making Peridot purse her lips once more. "Now, I'm curious about the bubble."

"Wha-What about it?" Peridot asked, her voice nervous and tinted with a fake awkward laugh.

"Where it arrived," Connie answered, raising a brow. At that, Peridot's twisted plastered smile disappeared. Gotcha, Connie thought. "All the bubbles go down to Garnet's room, but this one—"

"HEY, SO ABOUT STEVEN'S JOB!" Peridot suddenly screamed, her face going a bright blue as she startled Connie. "HOW ABOUT I TELL YOU EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT!"

This brought Connie pause. Peridot's sudden flip, it was strange. Steven's job was what Connie was trying to weasel out of Peridot, yet she's offering to tell her everything now? How did that make sense?

Unless… there was something else Peridot wanted to keep secret.

"Sure!" Connie said with a smile, just then realizing Pearl and Amethyst were on the verge of bursting out in laughter. Taking a seat next to Peridot, Connie waited for the Gem to give her the full explanation she was looking for. "Do tell~"

Peridot exhaled, breathing a sigh of frustration before taking a deep breath. Another fake smile, this one with a much cleaner layer of plaster, took her face.

"He's an archeologist," she began. "Specifically in the realm of Gem and Homeworld artifacts."

"So he studies Gem stuff?" Connie asked. "Why? Can't he just ask you guys?"

"He's not learning for himself," Pearl chimed in, finally pushing down her urge to chuckle at the two. "It's for all the humans, who gave up on trying to understand the remnants of Gem society centuries ago."

Peridot nodded, pressing the handle of her screwdriver against Connie's cheek and turning her head to face her.

"He translates many of the old Homeworld ruins and signages, and gives it to the humans for practically nothing," she continued, pulling back. "In fact, I think he only ever asks for a place to sleep. He takes the warp pads everywhere, and I send him meals through bubbles."

A part of Peridot's story jumped out at Connie, which she took silent note of. The bubbles, again. Connie wasn't sure what it was, but something was off.

"Of course, twenty years isn't exactly enough time to memorize all of Gem-Speak," Peridot droned on, glancing at the ceiling. "So he's often sending samples back to me to translate."

"Why you?" Connie asked, partially curious and partially hoping she'd admit something else to put this puzzle together. Peridot grinned, a spark of her ego lighting up her eyes. All these years, and some things never change.

"Why, who do you think _taught_ him to read Gem-Speak~?" she purred, her lips curling up as a hand went to her chest. "Why, it was yours truly!"

Peridot spun in her seat, throwing her arms into the air.

"The resourceful! The intelligent! The _loveable_! Peridot!" She forced her spinning to a sudden stop, tossing a pose in Connie's direction, with a grin to accent it. "Impressed, I'm sure."

"Completely," Connie assured, trying her best to not burst out with laughter. Then, a thought struck her. "So, Steven sends you things to translate?"

"Yup."

"And, you send them back?"

"Correct!" Peridot stood straight, a confident smarm peaking through her face.

"With the bubbles?"

"Absolu—" Peridot cut herself off mid-word, eyes widening. But it was too late, Connie already knew what she had to say. Peridot could only watch as her pseudo-opponent finally put the pieces together.

Behind the two, Amethyst and Pearl bursted out with snorts and chuckles.

"But, aren't bubbles always sent to where you consider 'home' to be?" Connie began, her line of thought running away with itself. Peridot's face grew a bright lime blush. "And you and Steven are sending it to each other…"

Amethyst lost it, just outright cackling as Connie stumbled closer to the truth. Peridot's eyes clenched shut, as she prepared for what was to come.

"You and Steven consider each other _home_? Are—" Connie paused, for a moment considering the thing she was about to suggest, the absurdity of it all. Peridot covered her face, and Connie knew she had to finish this. "Are you two _dating_?"

A pin drop silence took the house, even Pearl and Amethyst growing quiet as Connie posed her question. Yet, Peridot did not move. She stayed there with her eyes covered, trying to pretend if she could ignore the question, then maybe it'd go away.

After some time, Pearl stepped in.

"Erm," she chimed, catching Connie's attention. "Married, ten years."

"What?!"


	4. Smiles

Chapter 4: Smiles**  
Alternate Title: S'Married**

"What?!" Connie cried. "I mean— What!?"

Amethyst's laughter completely took the room at this point, as she cackled at the sight of the two. Connie's face hearing the news was priceless.

Whilst Amethyst was dying of laughter, Peridot was doing so of embarrassment. Her entire face was lit up with a brighter shade of green than usual, the telltale sign of a deep blush.

"When did—?" Connie began, her question tripping out of her mouth as another came barreling out. "How did—?"

Pearl patted Connie's back with an empathetic shake of her head. She had laughed at the thought of this happening earlier, but now all she could focus on was helping the young girl through the reveal. Snorts, however, still peaked their way through her curled lips on occasion.

Connie gazed across at Peridot, who looked like she was practically trying to bury her palms into her eyes. Shaking her head, Connie blurted out.

"You two?!" she asked, somewhat incredulously. Steven and Peridot, not just dating, but _married?_ For ten years at that? It wasn't just out of the expected, it was out of what she thought was possible!

Steven and Peridot?

"When—" Connie paused as she looked across at Peridot, realizing she _still_ hadn't broken from that completely frozen pose. Even as Amethyst's laughter died down, as the joke had grown old, Peridot stayed still. Connie pursed her lips. "Peridot, are you, uh, okay?"

Peridot inhaled then, nodding her head. Still, her eyes remained covered.

"Did I, uh, make you uncomfortable?" Connie pressed. Peridot exhaled, and Connie soon realized she was counting under her breath. After a moment, her hands slipped away, gripping her knees. "Peridot?"

"I'm, fine," she said, pausing mid-sentence. She eyed Connie. "I'm still, getting used to the idea of being open, about that… in that way."

There was a moment of dead silence.

"…With people other than Steven," she added, sighing. "I'm learning to be more open about the details, though I still have trouble with…"

"Me?" Connie suggested. Peridot snorted then, breaking the tension in the room.

"Specifically the version of you from twenty years ago, yes." Peridot turned in her seat, facing her work station. Yet, the didn't return to work. "This wasn't one of the things the past— er, future— The _other_ version of you told me about. Considering the fact that time hasn't collapsed in on itself, we can guess this happened the first time around as well."

"Which means?" Connie leaned forward in her seat, Pearl's hand still holding her shoulder.

Peridot groaned.

"Which means you knew me and Steven would get together for almost a decade." Peridot buried her face in her hands, half laughing and half whining. "Stars, so _that's_ why you tried to set us up for so long."

That stunned Connie. She played matchmaker for Steven and Peridot? She couldn't believe it. Connie certainly wasn't opposed to the relationship. Heck, she'd support anyone Steven genuinely loved. But, actively trying to set the two up to date? She just couldn't see it.

She still wasn't even sure what kind of relationship the two had.

Nudging her shoulder, Pearl pulled Connie's attention from her train of thought, directing her to Peridot with a nod of her chin. Glancing over, Connie paused. Her eyes were met with a surprising sight: Peridot, on a phone. The Gem held the device in her hands, eyes locked on its screen.

Whatever Peridot was looking at, it put a genuine, calming smile on her face.

All at once, Peridot's head shot up, as she realized she was being watched.

"I— Uh, sorry. I was just, looking at something," she said, keeping her lips flat and uncurled. She pulled the phone closer to her chest. "It helps calm down my more _erratic_ _tendencies_."

Nerves. She was trying to calm her nerves, Connie thought.

"What were you looking at?" she asked. Behind Peridot, Connie saw Amethyst perk up. Did something interest her? Peridot's mouth went wide and flat, as she considered just not answering. She twiddled with the phone in her hand for a few moments.

"Nothing, it's—" And then, all at once, Amethyst pounced on Peridot, grabbing the phone from her hand before she could react. "Hey!"

"Pffft! You're so obvious girl, it ain't even funny." Amethyst tossed the phone to Connie, who caught it just to avoid it hitting her face. "But I'ma laugh anyways. Hah!"

Connie paused, her eyes going to the image on the phone before she could even react. In an instant, she recognized what it was: An old picture of Steven, old at least by the standard of her being twenty years in the future. It had to been taken shortly after the time Connie had come from, as Steven looked only a bit older.

Glancing up at Peridot, Connie paused. The Gem's hands had returned to covering her face, a bright green blush taking her cheeks again. Looking back at the picture then, something stuck out at Connie: Steven's smile.

It was a wide, happy grin, wider than most Connie had seen from the teen. And with that smile, came a degree of comfort, an almost reassurance, that everything would be alright. Then, it hit Connie: something that Peridot had said earlier, about Steven's smile.

_Steven smiled and it felt like everything was okay, like the world was **saved**._

Connie remembered how Peridot's eyes were then, relaxed yet tinged with resolve.

_I promised I never wanted to make him cry like that again, only smile._

That promise Peridot talked about, it suddenly made sense.

_That smile that saved the world._

"_I ship it._" Connie's voice came in a whisper. She looked up, steeling herself as her eyes focused. Her voice rang out, "Peridot."

Peridot paused, moving her hands as she went to face Connie. Yet, what she was met with was not a face. Before Peridot's eyes was, rather, her phone, offered forward by Connie. She gave a calming smile.

"Can you tell me about you and Steven? Being together?"

"I, uh, what." Peridot took the phone, her mouth falling low as the request surprised her. For a moment, she considered just shutting down the question, citing the spoilers clause. Giving it a moment of thought, however, she dismissed that idea. She needed some pleasant conversation. "...Okay."

All at once, Amethyst reinserted herself.

"If y'all are gonna get sentimental and nostalgic and junk, then I'm just gonna go," she said, stuffing her hands into her hoodie. "Call me back when things get funny again."

"I should go too," Pearl added, her hands slipping from Connie's shoulders. "This is more of a personal matter."

"See ya, guys," Connie said, throwing out a wave as the two entered the temple. The moment the door closed behind them, Connie's eyes flicked back to Peridot. "So, about you and Steven?"

Peridot pursed her lips, for a moment reconsidering what she was being asked. She pushed past it.

"Steven is… Well, he's Steven!" Peridot said, running into a conundrum as soon as she started. "What's there to say that you don't already know?"

"Anything. What's the first thing you'd say when you think of him?" Connie pressed, leaning forward.

"Kind," Peridot began, after a moment of thought. "And right after that, understanding."

Smiling, Connie nodded. Peridot was right, she _did_ already know all of these. They were the reasons why Steven was her bestest friend in the world, her jam bud. Connie wanted to hear Peridot say it, though. Connie wanted to hear about how those things made Peridot blush at the cheeks, made her head spin with the sight of hearts and stars.

Connie wanted to know how much Peridot _loved _Steven.

"Steven, he, he always understood me," Peridot continued, her eyes drifting to the kitchen. "Better than any of the other Gems, at least."

"How so?" Connie asked. She had always thought Peridot had a good relationship with Lapis. Then again, few could compare to Steven.

Peridot bit her fist.

"From the beginning, he always gave me the chance to talk, to express myself as he says," she explained. Her eyes drifted to her hands in her lap. "When the Crystal Gems finally captured me all those years ago, Steven freed me, just to hear what I had to say."

Peridot snorted, memories from when she was Steven's enemy replaying in her mind. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"He told me a story once, when he and the Gems first saw me." Peridot's voice drifted, growing more soothed and calm. "Garnet and Pearl, they kept asking _'how did she get here?'_ and _'what is she doing?'_ and other trivialities like that."

Connie laughed as Peridot put on an exaggerated impression of the two Gems. Snorting, Peridot smiled as her eyes grew relaxed.

"But Steven? Steven noticed my _name_," Peridot perched her head on her palm. "Even I wouldn't have cared about that back then. But Steven? He cared. He helped _me_ care. Before, I was just Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG. But now? I'm _Peridot_."

Peridot laughed, bringing Connie pause.

"Well, Peridot _Universe_ that is," she finished, a wide smile taking her face. Peridot couldn't help it, the grin just grew, curling up her cheeks so fast she couldn't control it. A part of her didn't want to control it.

"D'awww, Peridot, that's adorable!" Connie replied, pressing her hands up to her cheeks. "You guys are so cute!"

"Only Steven gets to call me cute!" Peridot shouted, her face going bright green again. She paused. "I mean, nobody gets to—!"

Connie burst with laughter, making Peridot's blush glow brighter as she pursed her lips.

"You won't be laughing when my past self does that on _your_ wedding day," she commented, grumbling as she crossed her arms. This brought Connie pause.

"_My_ wedding day?" she asked. Peridot nodded. "I'm married? Who do I get married to?"

A part of Connie had just assumed she'd move in with Steven after college and they'd make that work. But with him tied to Peridot in the temple, that left the question of with who and where she herself would end up.

Peridot rolled her eyes.

"Do you honestly think I would tell you _that_? That's _far _worse than anything I've spoiled so far." Peridot shook her head. "Even you must see the danger in knowing so much of your own personal future."

Connie's lips went flat. Peridot was right, she thought. It's just that she had been given so many spoilers up until now, she kinda forgot they had to keep the whole _time stream_ stable.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized, pulling back slightly. A few moments of thought passed. "Can, can you tell me, about your wedding, with Steven?"

A smile returned to Peridot's face.

"We eloped," she replied.

"Wait, _what_?!" Connie sputtered in disbelief. She began looking to the left and right, as if her confusion could be relieved with a turn of the head. "But, but, Steven loves schmaltz! He loved a fifty page description of a wedding cake just because it was a wedding cake!"

Peridot shrugged.

"How the heck did you guys not have a wedding?"

"I didn't want one," Peridot replied, anchoring her head on her palm again. "Dresses? Cake? A crowd that won't leave me and Steven alone for so many hours? Suffice it to say, that wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to."

Peridot opened her phone, trawling through it in search of something.

"Weddings were better suited for the characters in my stories than me." Pausing, Peridot looked up and snorted. "Nyeheheh, better _suited_. Get it? Because in a wedding, people wear suits!"

Connie laughed along with Peridot, though she was unsure if it was out of a desire to seem agreeable or just out of the awkwardness of the joke itself.

"But yes, I didn't want to have a big wedding, or any really. And Steven was more than willing to oblige." Peridot extended her arm out, passing Connie her phone.

Taking the device, Connie immediately locked onto the picture in frame; It was Steven and Peridot. The two of them were stood out in front of Beach City Hall, Steven's arm holding the camera out to picture the two of them.

He was quite older in the photo, a feature that stuck out at Connie almost immediately. He was tall, massively so, much bigger than his then newly wed wife in the photo. Peridot was literally sitting on Steven's shoulder, her right arm wrapped around his head in a relaxed embrace.

Between them, perched in their hands was a piece of paper, and Connie could recognize it immediately: A marriage license. And with that, came the sight of Steven and Peridot's hands holding the license, each bearing a metal band on their ring fingers.

Steven's was a radiant green, and Peridot's a stellar pink.

"You guys are literally too cute for words," Connie began. Her finger instinctively began to swipe the photo to see the next in line, but the phone shot out of her hand before she could finish the deed. Peridot rolled her eyes as she retrieved the device with her magnetic powers.

"You are honestly intent on destroying all of space-time, huh?" she jeered. Tucking her phone back into her hair, Peridot turned to her station. "Speaking of which, I should get back to work. You're meant to leave a little while after Steven arrives, and I don't want to be caught telling stories with the device incomplete."

"Wait, I'm gonna get to see Steven?" Connie asked, getting up from her seat and approaching Peridot. She nodded. "Well, when is he getting here!"

Connie was practically about to jump in place with excitement. It was one thing to see pictures of Steven, or just talk about him. But getting to see him? She couldn't wait!

"I don't know," Peridot said with a shrug, immediately curbing Connie's enthusiasm. "All I was told was to have the device ready before Steven gets here. He could randomly show up right now for all I know, so this has to be done fast."

"Explains why you took all that time to talk about him," Connie replied in jest. Rolling her eyes, Peridot snorted.

"Anyways, you should relax and take a break." Peridot shot Connie a look. "Once you get back to the past, things are going to get a lot more intense. Lots of questions, from me, mostly."

"So, I'm going to go from being told all the answers _by_ Peridot, to telling all the answers _to_ Peridot." Connie laughed as she walked off to the couch. "That's going to be a fun conversation. _Hi, Peridot. Let me tell you what you just told me_."

Peridot and Connie shared one last laugh as the former hopped onto the couch, noting how strangely uncomfortable it was. Steven really hadn't replaced it in twenty years, she thought.

Steven.

As Connie stared up at the ceiling, her mind drifted back to her best friend, now an adult and living up to that title. A part of her always imagined Steven never changing, always being the boy he was the day they met. But now he _had _changed, and she had not. She was a girl and him a man.

What would happen when they met?

The question burned away in Connie's mind, as she turned it over and flipped it around looking for another angle. After some time, however, she gave up. Peridot was right, she thought. She should relax. There wasn't much she could do anyways. She had no answers.

Only a question and the wait.


	5. Sayonara

Chapter 5: Sayonara

The wait had put Connie to sleep. One moment she was staring up at the ceiling, and the next her eyelids began to drop. Finally, with a calm breath leaving her lips, Connie drifted off to dream.

Only to be awoken by the warp pad coming to life.

"I'm awake!" she shouted, her head rocketing off the couch. She flinched, a knot in her neck immediately punishing her for daring to get up. That's what she deserved for sleeping on such an old and uncomfortable couch, she thought. "Who's—"

Connie's eyes blinked open, staring wide towards the warp pad.

Steven.

He was as frozen as she was, staring back at her with those dumb old eyes of his. Mouth hanging agape, Steven shifted in place, the set of bags on his back and arm swinging as he turned. Connie practically wanted to laugh as she recognized his cheeseburger backpack and hot dog duffel bag. He really hadn't changed, she thought.

But on the surface, he definitely had. Steven_ had_ changed, especially in his_ height_. That picture Connie saw didn't do him any justice; Steven was ginormous, a solid seven feet tall, with the frame wide enough to match. He was a far cry from the boy she knew.

"C-Connie?" Steven stammered.

"Hey, jam bud," Connie replied, giving him a smile. The two remained frozen in place, neither moving or breaking the shocked impasse. That was until, a third party joined.

"Welcome home, Steven!" Peridot said with a smile, reinserting herself into the scene and approaching her husband. With a tug of his shirt, Peridot pulled Steven to her level and pressed a kiss to his cheek. His eyes fluttered as he was brought back down to Earth.

"Hiya!"

Steven dropped his bags and immediately scooped Peridot off the ground, making her yelp in surprise as he carried her into the room. Connie was taken aback, watching as Steven twirled forward, the tiny Peridot in his arms. Yet, after a few moments, she broke into laughter, her head dipping back as she went along with it. Steven laughed with her as he came to a stop, eyes bright and smile wide.

"Connie!" he said, beaming at her.

"Steven!" she cheered back, grin growing as she stood up. She rushed him, throwing her arms around his waist as she hugged on tight. Connie yelped as Steven scooped her up as well, twirling through the room with her and Peridot in hand.

"Ahh! Look at you guys, you're so small!" he laughed. "You guys haven't been the same size in years!"

"Pfft, don't remind me," Peridot said, rolling her eyes with a small smile.

"Hah, don't mind her, Connie. She's still bitter I'm too big to be in the Shorty Squad anymore." Steven winked at Connie, eliciting a well deserved punch to his arm from Peridot. "Ahhh, I've been hit!"

Connie snorted in laughter as Steven melodramatically stumbled his way to the couch, falling over like a soldier defeated in the finale of a film. Still smiling, Peridot detached herself from the perch on Steven's arm, landing on the floor and leaving the two old friends to laugh between themselves.

"I'm almost done with the device to send Connie back, so don't get too attached you two," she threw out there, approaching the makeshift workshop in the kitchen again.

"Awww, come on Peri, does she have to leave so soon?" Steven whined, puckering his lips at Peridot. The technician Gem rolled her eyes as she turned to her work.

"No way, mister. We're talking all of space-time. I'm not letting you schmooze your way into another hour like last time," Peridot dismissed.

"Fiiiine." Steven shot Connie a wink, which made her giggle. Then, however, she paused.

"Last time? What happened last time?" Connie asked. Giving an awkward laugh, Steven shook his head.

"_Spoilers_," he said, just as Connie playfully punched him in the other arm. "Ah, jeeze, I'm just taking all the hits today."

"You deserve it, pfahaha," Connie jeered, just as Steven deposited her next to him on the couch. The two shared a few moments of quiet then, as neither was sure of what to say. It was strange, they both thought, seeing your best friend from twenty years in the past/future.

Especially, when it seemed like they hadn't changed in the slightest.

"This, is gonna be a dumb question, but," Connie began.

"Oh perfect, I'm an expert in dumb questions. Just ask Peridot, " Steven jested. From her workshop, Peridot laughed. Connie let out a content sigh as she looked down at her hands. Then, however, she took a deep breath.

"My question is… Are, are you and I still close? Like, we didn't drift apart, when I went to college, right?" Connie's lips went flat as she finished her question. A part of her immediately regretted asking, out of sheer embarrassment.

What if Steven took offense at the idea? Or what if they _had_ drifted apart, and Steven just wanted to relish in a version of herself that was still close to him?

What if—

"Connie, you _live_ here," Steven said immediately, turning to Peridot. "Did you not tell her she lives here?"

"Wait, _what_?" Connie blinked once then twice in astonishment.

"No, of course I didn't tell her that," Peridot groaned from her seat. She pressed her face into her palm before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Her past self didn't say we told her, so I thought we shouldn't."

"What do you guys mean I live here, like, here in the house?" Connie's eyes sweeped the room, looking for some tell tale sign that this had become a home for four. Steven chuckled.

"No silly, you live in the temple with— Ow!" Steven winced as the nut of a bolt smacked into the side of his head. "What was that for, Peri?"

"No more spoilers! Especially not that!" she demanded. "There's no way that won't tear a hole in space and time. Telling her she lives with us with—"

Peridot paused, pursing her lips.

"Telling her she lives here was already too much," she continued. A sigh escaped her as she turned to face Connie. "Look, Connie. I know you're excited to hear about the amazing things you do in the future, or how we all turn out at the end of things, but—"

"It's better if you get to see it all yourself," Steven continued, completing Peridot's sentence. He locked eyes with Connie. "Hearing about it is great and all, but living it? Now, that's an _experience_."

"Pfffft," Connie snorted into her hand, Steven's callback catching her off guard. "I can't believe you just quoted _Garnet_."

Steven's head dipped back against the couch as he burst with laughter, caught in his attempt to seem wiser than he was. Following along with him, Connie felt her snorts evolve into snickering before finally full blown cackling. She fell back onto her spot on the couch right next to Steven.

The pair's laughter petered out, contentment filling the silence between them. Connie, with her eyes to the ceiling, felt the smile on her face widen. She had turned her stomach up in knots, asking the question of how Steven had changed, how many things had changed between them.

Yet, here they were, laughing like they _hadn't _not seen the other in twenty years. Here they were, being _themselves_.

Being Steven and Connie.

* * *

Sometime later, Peridot had finished the device. It crept up on Connie, who found herself quite enjoying her time with the future Steven. After some half baked excuses to delay, she relented, agreeing to finally be sent back. With everything set, the Gems were called in to say the last goodbyes.

"This one won't blow up, right?" Connie asked, nudging Peridot as she placed the small device in the center of the living room. It was a small thing, filled with gears and wires, and a single tube that shot in and out of it in precise locations.

"Pffft, I've been perfecting this design for twenty years now. Tested it numerous times before deconstructing the prototypes. It'll work, trust me." Peridot laughed, looking down at the notepad in her hands. Connie blinked.

"Why'd you do that?" Her eyes flicked to Pearl and Amethyst, who were sitting across from the two on the couch. "Why not just build it once?"

Peridot looked up.

"To show you I could make it work," she answered. "My first attempt didn't give you the best sense of what I could do."

Connie smiled as Peridot returned to the final preparations.

"Alright, I think it's time," Peridot said once. "Nyehehe. _Time_."

The room came to life, crowding around the device as Peridot leaned down to flick a switch. They cleared back quickly, however, as it began to vibrate.

Connie flinched, expecting a loud boom to fill the room and blow her back again. Even when none came, she still stood tensed, her eyes clenched shut. As Steven put a steady hand on her shoulder, however, she relaxed.

She opened her eyes.

It was like a calm ripple of water, suspended in space and time. The air around the center of it bent and curved in steady waves, spreading out with a gentle jaunt. And coming from it was sound, a serene melody, that filled the entire room with a quiet ambient, music.

It was light.

Connie gulped at the sight of it, her apparent ride home. A part of her wasn't sure whether she was meant to walk into the thing or take a picture. She dismissed the thought though. There was probably some reason that was a bad idea, and she didn't want to tempt fate anymore.

"_Whoa_." Amethyst's voice was the first to crack the room. Tearing her eyes away, Connie looked to the Gem, who stood slack-jawed. Pearl patted Amethyst's shoulder, similarly captivated by the sight. At that, Connie remembered something.

"Would it be too much to ask why Garnet isn't here?" she said, turning to Steven and Peridot again. The two looked at one another, and at that Connie had her answer. "Got it, spoilers."

Her sight returned to the mass of light.

"It was, _amazing_, seeing you all," she said, a smile growing on her face. "I can't wait to meet up again! In, uh, twenty years."

"Goodbye Connie!" Pearl called first, waving to the girl. She smiled. "You better not slack on any training!"

Connie burst with a laugh, saluting Pearl with a grin.

"Ayy, you better listen to her," Amethyst added, nudging Pearl with her elbow. "Trust me, you're gonna need the strong sword arm!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl called as the Gem in question began cackling.

Rolling her eyes with a smile, Connie turned back to Steven and Peridot. They stood side by side, the sheer difference in their height still flooring Connie. Yet, despite their distance, they were still hand in hand, linked together.

"Thank you, for talking to me," Peridot said first, her eyes trailing to the floor. "I never realized how much I would enjoy telling you… everything."

"Anytime," Connie reassured. Peridot's head rose, a smile blessing her face as she nodded.

Then, all at once, Steven fell to one knee, bringing his eyes level to Connie. Disconnecting from Peridot, he extended his arms out, speaking to Connie without a word. In an instant, she understood what he meant.

Bring it here.

Throwing her arms around Steven, Connie squeezed him tight with a hug. After a moment, they pulled apart, though they stayed in each other's arms.

"I love you, Connie," he said, sniffling as he held back a tear. Connie pulled him in for another embrace.

"I love you too, Steven." With one last squeeze, the two separated, Connie rising to her feet as Steven rested his arm on his knee. Looking to the portal one last time, Connie grinned. "See you around, jam bud."

Connie sprinted, leaping into the portal with a single bound. Her body disappeared into the mass of light, which began to vibrate with a gentle rhythm. Then, with a silent click it disappeared.

Quiet took the room, as Steven rose to full height. He breathed a sigh of relief.

After taking a moment to make sure the universe wasn't collapsing in on itself, Peridot turned to Pearl. Marching forward, she approached the tall Gem.

"Me and Steven have been married for _twelve_ years. Why did you say _ten_?" she asked, crossing her arms. Pearl laughed, a hand going to her chest.

"Oh, I thought it'd be fun to say when _she and I_ got married, without spoiling that for her," Pearl answered, a smile curling up her lips as she glanced towards the front door.

"Yooo, Pea's making jokes now?" Amethyst called, approaching the two. "Peri, the universe might be ending after all."

"Hah," Peridot laughed, putting her hands on her hips. "You think that was funny? I managed to convince her that me and Steven eloped!"

"You did _not_." Steven joined the group, leaning over Peridot and wrapping his arms over her shoulder. "Why the heck did you do that?"

"She was our wedding planner!" Peridot defended. "I wasn't going to let her cheat by looking at what her future self already did!"

Steven burst into laughter, burying his face in her hair as he did so. Just then, however, the front door cracked open. Heads turned at the sound.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, got caught up—" Connie, this one adult and fully grown, stood in the doorway. Her skin was coated in a sprinkling of faded scars, and her hair was held in a bun. She stared at the group, who stood silent in the middle of the living room. "What are you guys do—"

She froze.

"Oh_ stars_, that was today, wasn't it?

* * *

Connie slammed into a wall of sand, sediment going up her nose with the crash. She pulled her head out, spitting and sputtering as she got her bearings through the disorientation. As her bearings got to her, however, she leapt into action.

"The beach," she whispered, realizing she was back in the crater of sand. Looking behind her, Connie breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the portal that had taken her to the future gone. Now that just left one thing. "Steven!"

Connie climbed up the crater of sand in leaps and bounds, pulling herself to the edge in a moment. As soon as she stood straight, a sound filled her ears.

"CONNIE!" Steven and Peridot called in unison, tackling the girl and pulling her away from the hole in the beach. Steven pressed Connie into his chest, sobbing without an inch of restraint as he squeezed her tight.

"C-Connie!" he screamed.

"Steven!" Connie called, patting the boy's back in comfort. Squeezing even tighter, Steven began to blow the air from her lungs. "S-Steven?!"

"I thought you died!" he sobbed.

"We thought you died!" Peridot repeated, speaking up for the first time.

"Are you okay?!"

"What happened to you?!" Peridot pulled away, as Steven continued to hold onto Connie for dear life. "Where did you go?!"

"C-Can't, breathe!" Connie's skin began to grow blue before Steven finally let her go. Taking a deep breath, Connie panted for a moment before speaking. "I'm— fine."

She gave the two a weak smile, both of her hands resting on their shoulders. Cupping Steven's cheek, she laughed.

"I'm fine, Steven. A bit dizzy, but fine," she reassured. And as she said that, Steven's face lit up. Through the tears that trailed down his face, Steven's lips curled into a smile that beamed out: True, unrelenting joy. Connie held back a laugh, as she caught Peridot staring at him.

When Peridot realized Connie was looking at her, however, she winced under hrt gaze. Her eyes clenched close.

"Peridot."

Connie cupped Peridot's cheek as well, making her eyes tremble open.

"Are… Are you angry with me?" she asked, her voice shaking at the touch. Connie shook her head. At that, Peridot's lips went flat. "What happened to you, in there?"

"Your machine, it worked! A little too well, actually," Connie said, glancing up. Peridot's eyes went wide as Steven raised a brow.

"You— You went to the future?!" Peridot shrieked, to which Connie nodded.

"What did you see?" Steven asked, pulling at the two's attention. Connie smirked.

"Sorry. _Spoilers._"

The End


End file.
